tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50481861352514979522017-07-23T02:35:13.612-07:00Lights Out Project - It's hard to say what happens in the dark.power outage, lightsoutproject, creative writing, google plusMatthew Myershttps://plus.google.com/110646233491317216320noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-14824435519223475762012-05-02T09:23:00.002-07:002012-05-02T09:23:14.780-07:00<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I shot a man today.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">It's not what I wanted to do, it was never what I wanted to do. They just.. they just wouldn't stop.. and they were going to take our tomatoes. I mean... who kills someone over tomatoes? I'm still shaking as I write this. It's hard to keep going.. what have I done? I'm a monster, I must be. Nobody would do wha</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Okay. Its okay. I'm better now. I had to do it, I know I had to. I buried the body under some of the plants. I guess... that there's no sense in letting it go to waste. He looked so cold.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I haven't left my house since it happened. I started marking the days on the wall. It's been almost a month. I'm going to have to go soon, and find water. The tap hasn't run in a while now- guess the plant can't run. Got plenty of food, thank god for canned veggies.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Are you there god?</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Okay. Managed to find some water. The Bonfare was picked clean, and I had to walk to the river. Gas lines are still working, but I had to find a lighter to get the stove going. Least I won't be getting cholera.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I wonder how the gas lines are working still? I should go find some wood, just in case.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Swear I'm going to go crazy without my computer. Maybe I already have. I'm not sure if this is really happening. My family is just across town, but I can't get to them to visit. Too far away to walk in one day, I don't have the supplies. Wouldn't be in before curfew.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Running out of paper. Going to have to start writing on the back of my paperwork and stuff. Might even write on the walls if I have to. Maybe I should stop wasting space. Who cares about paragraphs and grammar and crap anymore, right? I mean sure it's important, but not so important. I think writing here is the only thing I have left. Roommates went out this morning. Haven't come back. Didn't say where they were going. I keep hearing gunshots, automatics. Can't be anybody here, must be military. I think I might start trading their pot plants for supplies. But if I do that, someone will try to take them from me. It's dangerous. It got really cold last night. Electric blanket is worthless now. Strange, home depot still has a lot of wood. Going to go back for as much as I can get soon. If you're reading this I hope I'm still alive. Someone tried to take the wood I was bringing back. I hit them over the head with a twobyfour until they stopped moving. I cant keep thinking about what im doing to people, I have to survive. I need to find other people who wont try to steal. I need to get out of here, we need to get out of here. Traded the last of the plants today, but I kept the seeds. Lot easier then making alcohol, and lots of people are desperate for a fix. Going to leave this house now. Find my family. Maybe we can get out of</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l0Xm9zXlPjI/T6FfWUVkInI/AAAAAAAAI0c/pE9YOFFd9yE/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l0Xm9zXlPjI/T6FfWUVkInI/AAAAAAAAI0c/pE9YOFFd9yE/s200/11.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/105551941445783244668/posts" target="_blank">David Bartels</a></span></div>Matthew Myershttps://plus.google.com/110646233491317216320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-37831968052696539212012-05-01T20:11:00.002-07:002012-05-01T20:11:59.968-07:005/1/12It’s been over two weeks and the sun has just started to shine enough for my solar chargers to give my mid tablet life, I don’t dare start up the generator after last week. This is going to be brief, but being as this is a moment in history I feel as though it is somewhat my duty to document it for my family, and the rate the gunshots are heard in the neighborhood lately, no better time than the present.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I’ll start off with what happened the first week, my over paranoid self, chose to fill up our Bobs and put them under my daughter’s bed, and sons closet. Here it was one of the smartest things I have done (other than overstocking rechargeable batteries and solar charges when I found them cheap on ebay). My boyfriend scoffed at how ridiculous I can be, but by day 5 he managed to ask if he could open the first one with the word please—his less than graceful way of saying thank you, I suppose. <br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We used the generator all last week and made jerky from all the meat in the deep freezer, I am surprised half the town’s dogs weren’t sitting on our porch from the smells. I found out it wasn’t the food and animals, but the generator and other people I needed to be wary of. I offered for our immediate neighbor use of the oven, but she declined, &amp; I haven’t seen the neighbor who shares a wall with us, I think those kids took off for home early on. The neighbors down the right side of the sublet (possible meth-heads from the looks of it BLWO—before lights went out), and the massive complexes of shoddy apartments across the street have been my biggest concern, and the main reason I am writing this tonight.<br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A few nights ago someone smashed in our kitchen window, and was trying to climb in when they got a steak knife through the hand… whether it was for food, or the generator, I can’t be sure, I do know however that they will be back, once their hand heals, and I am lucky I am not dead for giving them the present of a piece of my cutlery. We are leaving ASAP. So we have enough meat dehydrated and sealed (thank you foodsaver), and 2 bobs left for my small family and we need to get out. They have National Guard on the roads, as well as regular troops. We have heard the “remain home and calm” or “curfew” amplification/recording, and know we are taking a risk, but no larger than the one we’d take staying here. There’s not anything of police, and I am quite fearful for my little ones. In these living conditions, and in such cramped quarters we are due for a plague (history does repeat itself). At the least, the rioting will move to the homes in search of food and water. My family is going to “little house on the prairie it” in Idaho, where Mike knows of a cabin by a decent stream for fishing/bathing/ect. Not sure if grandpa is going to come with up, he has a mini arsenal, generator, secure home, and enough Gatorade to last a normal person two years, and beer to go with it-- though we are going to ask. Either way, he’s coming off some guns and at least one of his presses and dies. If he comes along, I pray he doesn’t bring that damn feral cat of his. -.-<br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I have a spousal military ID (though I am no longer married to the guy, and he’s no longer in the military—fat chance they will have the means to look that up though ;), I am hoping it will get me through the guards and out of town, we are packing the truck in the dead of the night, I am donning my old BDUs from JROTC complete with name tape and correct patches from the BF’s surplus, he’s getting in his BDUs, I’ve doctored his military ID expiration date (DADT) and we are gone. First stop is my besties father’s rock quarry, where we are trading: 2 FMRS radios, a solar hookup, and clothes Nico’s grown out of, for 40 gallons of gas from their fuel pumps and some seeds from last year’s veggie garden. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; If they turn us around at a check point, we should still be okay, for the first time since he bought the damn overpriced things, I am glad to have super swampers on the truck (this experience has made me happy he has many of the quirks that, until recently, grated on every nerve in my being). Not sure how we are going to fit everything in the bed and keep it secure all the way there, though since we won’t have to stop for gas at a station, or red-lights for that matter, we should be okay with just the tarps. The kids are getting restless and into the packed totes that are bound for the truck, my battery is getting low, and Mike needs some help putting what electronic valuables we might want when this is all over and done with packed away upstairs. I mean who the hell steals boxes marked Christmas Decorations from an attic?!? If things went awry Alannah and Nico, I hope you were able to grab the tablet, and are okay. Remember momma loves you more than all there is sand in the world and stars in the sky.&nbsp; Hopefully I will get the chance to write more when we get there.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7DNN9FZyGNk/T6Clv5Ui7aI/AAAAAAAAIyU/cjzGsqcoh4w/s1600/photoCANU28TY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7DNN9FZyGNk/T6Clv5Ui7aI/AAAAAAAAIyU/cjzGsqcoh4w/s200/photoCANU28TY.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/stream#118272434101169578887/posts" target="_blank">Shannon Weirich</a></div>Matthew Myershttps://plus.google.com/110646233491317216320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-80523104936753254302012-04-21T00:12:00.003-07:002012-04-21T00:12:33.012-07:004/21 Frisco TexasIt has been over a week since the power went out and we haven't heard anything from anyone. &nbsp;All food in the fridge is gone, and I'm sick of eating hard boiled eggs at every meal. &nbsp;We haven't gotten into the freezer yet but I can already tell that most of the stuff in it is going to thaw out within the next few days.<br /><br />The worst situation is the water and baby formula situation. &nbsp;My two month old son has been eating and growing&nbsp;tremendously&nbsp;the last few days, and we are only down to a day, maybe two left of his formula. &nbsp;The three gallon jug of water that we had left is running low as well. &nbsp;I know I have to do something soon.<br /><br />My wife and I considered moving in with her parents who live nearby, but we&nbsp;aren't&nbsp;ready to abandon our house yet. &nbsp;A few days ago there was a gang of men with a generator on the back of a pick-up truck. &nbsp;They went door to door in our neighborhood, offering use of their generator for any supplies. &nbsp;I didn't&nbsp;appreciate&nbsp;the way the guy cased my house as he knocked on my door with the butt of his shotgun, and lately I have been keeping my own&nbsp;Louisville&nbsp;Slugger close by. &nbsp;Every night we hope that the power comes back on, and every morning we are greeted with the same&nbsp;disappointment.<br /><br />Tonight though I know that I have to do something. &nbsp;Liam will be out of food tomorrow. &nbsp;I grab the 5 gallon gas can that is half full, and put it in the trunk of my Jetta. &nbsp;I put the baseball bat in the passenger seat and place a couple spare bricks that were in our garage on the seat next to me. &nbsp;I drive with my lights off to the Kroger nearby. &nbsp;Its pitch dark and my black Jetta. &nbsp;I roll into the parking lot and see the same pickup truck from the other day is parked in front of the doors, several of the men with shotguns are sleeping inside the store and two others keep watch. &nbsp;I park my car in the back, grab the bat and a brick to smash a window to get in.<br /><br />"Hey! What the fuck are you doing man? You think you can roll up on us in the middle of the night?"<br /><br />I swear to myself for being stupid and being discovered. &nbsp;"I need in there. &nbsp;I need food for my kid."<br /><br />"What do you have to trade, we can't let you in for nothin' asshole."<br /><br />I squeeze the handle of the bat. &nbsp;"How about some gas, I grab a cart and load up and don't bother you again."<br /><br />"How much gas?"<br /><br />"At least 4 gallons." I lie, I know&nbsp;there is&nbsp;less than that in the can, i just gamble that this guy doesn't know what a full can feels like.<br /><br />"Get it and we'll let you in."<br /><br />I run back to the car, grab the gas can out of the trunk and walk back, I drop it at the guys feet and grab a cart. &nbsp;I load up on formula and a couple jugs of water. &nbsp;I load up the rest of the cart with canned food and pasta. &nbsp;I make sure I'm quick and don't overstay my welcome here. &nbsp;I walk quickly back to the car and throw everything in the trunk as quickly as I can. &nbsp;I shut the trunk and quickly get in the car. &nbsp;I notice a truck start to follow me on the way out. <br /><br />I drive away from my house, and keep driving, staying on major streets as long as I can. &nbsp;After about an hour he gives up and stops tailing me, and I take the long way back home. &nbsp;The sun is rising as I pull in my driveway. &nbsp;I pull out an old couch that was sitting in the garage and park my car inside of it. &nbsp;I close the door behind me. &nbsp;Last thing I need is those guys knowing where I live.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tk2R6MBXh-Y/Tvy4IU8PFKI/AAAAAAAAGs0/BYq-ThnA_-Y/s1600/Dec+29%252C+2011+12%253A57%253A20+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tk2R6MBXh-Y/Tvy4IU8PFKI/AAAAAAAAGs0/BYq-ThnA_-Y/s200/Dec+29%252C+2011+12%253A57%253A20+PM.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />Matthew Myershttps://plus.google.com/110646233491317216320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-77074809159282608822012-04-20T18:21:00.002-07:002012-04-20T18:22:34.913-07:00The lights are out but life moves on.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Not expecting this to go beyond the first night, we used our toilets without flushing. So grateful I had a "home ownership for dummies" lying around. Yay for flushing with a bucket of water! We have been trying to dig a hole to make a little outhouse but our soil is rocky. I guess I should have expected a completely inexplicable world wide power outage when I was selecting the grade of dirt to fill my yard with? After the first 6" or so, it's almost more productive to use a broom than a shovel. At least the broom already lived outside so we don't have to ruin a good one.</span><br /><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The lack of social media is driving me insane, I've been writing blogs on paper as if people actually want to read them.&nbsp;I keep opening my laptop expecting to check facebook and see how people are, then getting sad again when it doesn't work.&nbsp;The kids found an old mp3 player and blasted kid bop songs until the batteries ran out, then mostly cried to sleep because they wanted the TV back and I wouldn't turn it on.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">We ran out of the water dad gave me. This morning I filled some pans of water from the stream and boiled it over the fire pit but it's gross. I have no idea how sick this is going to make us if I cook with it. This water isn't exactly fresh, I think it's run off from a treatment plant or something so who knows what chemicals it's full of but it got our hair clean.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TojLG11Tk5s/T5ILYY2WCsI/AAAAAAABlZA/KE4LJZAZsF0/s1600/12+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TojLG11Tk5s/T5ILYY2WCsI/AAAAAAABlZA/KE4LJZAZsF0/s320/12+-+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I usually see my brother and sisters or at least hear from them every couple of days. I feel so alone.</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/103201566798631429612/about" target="_blank">Circle and learn more about Susie on google+</a></div></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-32186801771378399202012-04-19T20:17:00.000-07:002012-04-19T20:17:30.042-07:00Could be time to re-define FAMILY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">It;s been an entire week without lights. &nbsp;I have been sharing the meat out of the freezer because I don't really know how much longer turning on the generator for a couple of hours a day will work. &nbsp;At the very least I know my neighbors have appreciated it. &nbsp;It has also been an entire week since I last heard from my long haul truck driving boyfriend. &nbsp;I hope he is ok but I am sure sleeping in a truck where he may or may not have food, water, and fuel isn't safe. &nbsp;With no cash coming in and no real valuables with him he is probably finding it hard to get resources. &nbsp;I did go into town on the four wheeler and get his mom. &nbsp;She was scared because things in town are getting dicey and she is out of gas for her generator. &nbsp;Some looting of the local grocery and drugstore for essentials. &nbsp;She didn't want to leave her condo but I told her, "Any things you have here that get stolen we will replace when this is over and any property damage will be up to your landlord to replace. &nbsp;You have insurance. It doesn't cover replacing your life, let's go!" &nbsp;Promising her fresh water and food seemed to convince her. &nbsp;While i was in town I went ahead and took all the cans of shortening from the grocery. &nbsp;I figured it up and I owe them $35 when this is over. &nbsp;That's fine. &nbsp;Each can will make one 45 day candle with just a piece of string pushed down in it. &nbsp;Oh and I also took two decks of cards to entertain us and a bag of dog food in case the boyfriend gets home with his dog.</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Last night his sister, who hasn't spoken to us in over two years, walked back to the house while i was running the generator. &nbsp;She asked for gas. &nbsp;I lied and told her this was the last of it. &nbsp;But I gave her a 5 gallon bucket of water I had filled from the well to water plants and 2 lbs of hamburger for dinner. &nbsp;I also took all the hunting gear and ammo back to the pond house with me last night. &nbsp;I am going to check tonight to see if she needs more water or meat. &nbsp;Also give her one of the candles. &nbsp;For the sake of her daughter still at home it is the least I can do. &nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">My son has been clearing the trees around the pond and cutting them up so we have wood. &nbsp;I have a rocket furnace in this house so we won't have to burn much wood even in a cold snap other than for cooking. &nbsp;I saw Officer Vacarro while I was in town. &nbsp;He said the next city over is really a mess. &nbsp;He said they have called in the National Guard. &nbsp;Thankfully it hasn't spilled over to here much. &nbsp;Vacarro asked how we were doing out here, while he eyed my massive supply of shortening. &nbsp;I am fairly sure he knew where I got it and just didn't say anything. &nbsp;Probably thinks I am nuts for taking something that most think has no value right now. &nbsp;I told him we were hanging in and decided I should play up how awful it is so it wouldn't get around town that we have water and lights. &nbsp;So far they are handling it ok, short of the looting. But town hasn't been without power for more than a week in a long long time and most are starting to get freaked out. &nbsp;I guess I never really thought before how much we rely on electricity. &nbsp;It entertains us, soothes us, gives us our imagined strength and power. &nbsp;I am also thankful for reading those Foxfire books as a kid and having an interest in simplistic lifestyles because if this goes on for another week those will be the things that keep us going out here in the pond house.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JBKWFl-H8f4/T5DUkmRCkzI/AAAAAAABlT8/Hw27asjBHSY/s1600/2011-06-15+22.36.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JBKWFl-H8f4/T5DUkmRCkzI/AAAAAAABlT8/Hw27asjBHSY/s1600/2011-06-15+22.36.13.jpg" /></a></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I hope my friends and family are doing ok. &nbsp;My worries for them take a lot of my time and thoughts. &nbsp;I am going to start working on the summer's garden tomorrow if it doesn't rain just so I can distract myself. &nbsp;I find working outside during the day helps wear me out so I can sleep at night.</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/111209629416454183241/about" target="_blank">Learn More about and circle Heather Gleason on Google+</a></div></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-52617438267087584062012-04-18T13:30:00.000-07:002012-04-18T15:52:21.749-07:00Day 6 without power… We’re gonna have to get the fuck out of here.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Day 6 without power… We’re gonna have to get the fuck out of here.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Last night while sleeping my wife elbows me hard. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">“What was that?” She asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">I lay still listening and then I hear it. It’s some kind of scuffle and it seems to be coming from my patio. I go across the hall from the master bedroom to the office. The balcony there overlooks the patio and my neighbor’s patios as well. The patios are separated by a 6 foot privacy fence. I grab my 12 volt camping lantern and fill the adjoining patio with the white harsh light that only Coleman can produce.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">I had only meant to look for a second. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">I had expected to see a raccoon or perhaps a fox. The wildlife is kind of reclaiming everything since the power has been off.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">I was stunned to see my neighbor Darren standing over a stranger with a baseball bat.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">“Hey Darren! What the fuck?” I shouted.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">This seems to break the spell, at least it has stopped the down-swing of the bat.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">“I found this fucker rooting around on my patio; obviously trying to steal.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">The homeless guy stands up and his arm just kind of wiggles in an odd way. I realize with a sickening certainty that his arm is broken. I am just shocked. What the hell is happening to us? This is a good upscale neighborhood. Crime is pretty much Zero here in Santee. The homeless guy is filthy and dressed in layers. He kind of stares into the light as does Darren. Using his good arm he opens Darrens gate and shuffles off into the night.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">I flash the light on Darren.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">“Did you bust his arm with that fricking bat?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">“Hell yea I did.” He replied.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">“Dude, you can’t just beat people down with a fricking ball bat, you could have killed him. You were still swinging when I turned the light on.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">“Yea… I was pissed. What would you have done?”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">“Man I don’t know; but probably not that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">“I’m gonna tell you something as your neighbor and your friend. You need to wake the fuck up and see what’s going on here.” said, Darren.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">“It means we are fucked. The lights are out, and who knows when of if they are coming back on. Remember when you saw that cop that was recommending we don’t travel? Well I was up there yesterday and he’s gone. Guess what's there now? &nbsp;A fucking armored personnel carrier with a 50 cal mounted on top. And you know what else? I don’t think anyone is even inside of it. There’s a camera on the fucking gun. There is about 50 people camped around it; if you can call a 100 foot wide circle with an APC in the center, and a ring of people around that, around it. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">I guess every other day a fuel truck filled with soldiers not wearing insignia shows up and pumps diesel in the APC, and then drives away. The soldiers don’t talk to anyone and if they even move a little closer shots are fired above their heads and a tape plays telling them these are the final warning shots.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Now if it’s still not clear to you all the resources in the world for us are in this circle that the military has created since the lights went out. Once they are gone people will start dying. So you’re worried about some thief getting his ass kicked for trying to steal? You better wake the fuck up. We need to band together, so someone can keep watch because as soon as people start getting hungry and thirsty they will start stealing.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">I’m going to call a meeting tomorrow and see who’s in and who’s out; but I’ll ask you now. Are you in or out?”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">“I guess I’ll let you know in the morning at the meeting.” I answered as I closed the patio door and turned out the light.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">I stand looking at my wife, while she stares back at me, and mentally taking inventory. He’s right; everything has changed and I need to decide what I’m going to do.</span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K6LkxAPbXXs/T48j5Z85MYI/AAAAAAABlLo/cGDyiV1ORgk/s1600/photo+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K6LkxAPbXXs/T48j5Z85MYI/AAAAAAABlLo/cGDyiV1ORgk/s1600/photo+(1).jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/117597061540365781107/about" target="_blank">Follow me on G+</a></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></div></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-7717551157052546712012-04-17T20:24:00.001-07:002012-04-17T20:24:58.677-07:00My whole home was almost Taken Over - Lights Out!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white;">Animals can sense trouble. Unfortunately people are also animals- which means once I started to worry, the kids started to freak the f#@! &nbsp;out. Nobody is sleeping, meals involve sitting quietly near a table while we all pick at food and games involve a million interruptions for "what was that noise?" The upside is if I tell them to do something, they rush about doing it like their lives depend on it.</span><br /><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white;">As refreshing as it was to use the shower and have working lights for a day, coming home again was a disaster.</span><br /><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white;">For starters, the old man next door was camped on my front porch with a rifle. Apparently, he had decided that my house was safer on account of the huge glass windows he has on every wall of his. &lt;Insert long rant about impending looters&gt; Pointing out that taking over my house was a lot like looting seemed to be the route to go. After a couple hours of cautious reasoning with him he moved on. I also gave him a case of beer and helped him into the abandoned home next door. Water is a crisis situation right now. Before coming back home, I moved some storage bins into the back of my car and filled them with the hose. We moved the van into the garage and we've been walking to the car and getting it as needed at this point but I'm afraid to let anybody know we have it there.</span><br /><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white;">This weekend left me wondering why I never bothered meet my neighbors. I live by some neat people, who I'm sure wouldn't seem terrifying if there wasn't this looming truth that we are suddenly competing for the same resources. It's been informal so far, but we've had a few small meetings just discussing pooling together to help each other out. I volunteered my back yard as a giant garden- a large area right by a stream with no trees to block the light. I have never felt so sore in my life from digging up sod and trying to till rocky dirt. So far, I think we will all be able to eat all the summer squash and tomatoes we want by mid-summer. I am going to feel like such an idiot when the power comes back on. At least I will be an idiot with a lot of pasta sauce. &nbsp; As nervous as I am about them, I'm glad the people living right here seem to be coping well. We started to drive to downtown and saw people looting the Target Saturday morning. It took less than two days for some people to go crazy, I am trying not to think about what is going on down there today, three days later.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white;">It was my daughter's birthday today. I feel terrible that she didn't get a cake. All of our ice cream melted. The chest freezer smells- while digging the garden I actually dug a hole and started to bury some old food so we wouldn't have to deal with it. I wish I could take her out somewhere, go to the movies or just let her pick out a new toy at the store... but I don't think there are any safe stores right now. I wanted to lie to her about the date and hope we will wake up with power tomorrow, but what if we don't?</span><br /><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zyCnCGsbdvM/T44zDffEJrI/AAAAAAABk50/DsjOqIf7kX8/s1600/12+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zyCnCGsbdvM/T44zDffEJrI/AAAAAAABk50/DsjOqIf7kX8/s320/12+-+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/103201566798631429612/about" target="_blank">This is one fantastic writer circle her on Google+</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="mailto:swaney3@gmail.com" target="_blank">Feel like contributing? E-mail questions and submissions here.</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white;"><br /></span><br /></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-57480486093162681952012-04-17T16:49:00.001-07:002012-04-17T16:49:48.733-07:005 Days Still in the dark! If I rob the condo next door and no one see is it still looting?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw-bbMrPf0_dPxrIUmGzlzCbXiHaf9XrNOdwxafQbm2TZjXPq1hiWVE9nMTd4kJS6qnUOEp4ZGq4CeYZm_f4Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I decided to do a Video Blog after 5 days in the dark. I want to encourage any and all participants in the Lights Out Project to create Video's post them to YouTube and send me the link and they too will be added to the lights out project.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YtZgfLs08Q4/T44BAZIFFMI/AAAAAAABk28/Nvl4PVW-vkI/s1600/San+Diego+185.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YtZgfLs08Q4/T44BAZIFFMI/AAAAAAABk28/Nvl4PVW-vkI/s320/San+Diego+185.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/117597061540365781107/about" target="_blank">Please circle me and follow the lights out project on G+</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="mailto:swaney3@gmail.com" target="_blank">Email questions, comments, and suggestions, about The Lights Out Project Here.</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-32167750814042503922012-04-17T16:32:00.001-07:002012-04-17T16:32:11.854-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Update April 16th, 2012 4:21pm Hartford County CT USA</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">OK this is quite crazy No Power &amp; we haven't yet been told why &amp; the past 2 days it's been Summer Heat instead of Spring&nbsp;</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Sunday it was in the low 80s &amp; today it was projected to possibly a record breaking 90? This late in the day &amp; it's 89 84 in the shade according to the thermometer - Thank Goodness I went &amp; purchased these "silly waste of money" dodads cooling neckties - yes they laughed at me when I decide to pick up stuff like that they see no need for; but today we're wearing them &amp; they do at least help in this heat with no fans or even air conditioning</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Living the "primitive life" without power is both tiring &amp; rewarding as I try to find ways to do things that we've always done with power - living on the farm growing up helps me here because we used to lose power at any storm so I draw on those memories but HubbyMan is a city boy &amp; the children grew up in cities &amp; suburbs so they aren't thrilled with the ideas I've set before them.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Using the sunlight to get things done requires for us to get up earlier in the day - since Daughter is a nurse she's still got to go in for work but she's not liking the fact that her job is right in the middle of the ghetto with it's drug users walking all around. HubbyMan has to go into work as well since the utilities are all on standby &amp; as soon as the power is back up they'll be playing catch up in addition to checking all of their systems. They're under a lot of pressure so I am holding down the home front with Baby Genius &amp; just staying home avoiding going out as much as possible. No need to risk running into road rage or those acting crazy because there isn't enough of something in the store so they want to fight over stuff.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Plane traffic is way down with all of this, not certain but it seems only one or 2 a day coming into the airport from our direction. I did hear the radio say that the trains will be running on a Sunday/Holiday schedule until further notice. That makes sense without power many offices are closed anyway.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The Home Depot has had to call in police to break up a fight over generators.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Target is once again using generators to light up a few lights &amp; the registers so people can shop for those items in the store. All of their foods in the cooler section are again being tossed out so they do not get sued for selling food that wasn't kept in the extreme cold. Everything that is BBQ related is pretty much SOLD OUT. Batteries &amp; candles are long gone at this point. They do not know when a shipment is coming next with the power out the reordering system is also down</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The governor's office has had twice daily updates but they do not seem to know much more about the cause of the problems except to say that this is a nation wide problem &amp; the National Guard has been called up to assist the local &amp; state police departments.&nbsp;</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Our emergency center has been in operation ever since the 12th when they realized it was a state wide problem. Might not agree with the politics of those up on capital hill but at least our state has a decent emergency center not the best but they are always trying to improve it &amp; do call up those who are needed to run it quite quickly.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Many schools were out for spring break this week &amp; those that weren't already off were off last week. So the schools are once again being used for showering centers for the residents who do not have running water or generator backup for their water pumps. Who would guess that in April they would be talking about opening the schools for cooling centers? The students will most likely have later dates for getting out this year. In the cities they are doing lunches &amp; dinners because the people do not have power at some of the schools or senior centers I've heard on the radio.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2N8uDc5trQY/T439Het5JbI/AAAAAAABk2w/thFf0IUgcc0/s1600/photo+(4).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2N8uDc5trQY/T439Het5JbI/AAAAAAABk2w/thFf0IUgcc0/s1600/photo+(4).jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/108693062865444341500/about" target="_blank">Circle and Learn more about this writer on G+ </a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-47445797055302486252012-04-17T16:24:00.000-07:002012-04-17T16:24:03.678-07:00Notes From Sweeden...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">(notes from Sweden, 8:30 a.m. Saturday)</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Lights are intermittent. Even with water and wind for electricity,</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">there's still some problem with getting power around the country. I</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">wouldn't know this if it weren't for neighbors and friends who are</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">well-versed in this stuff.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">We sat on the terrace most of yesterday with the neighbors. Lights</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">would blink for a while, then go back off. John and I did go back</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">inside for a bit to make sure most of our major items were unplugged</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">to avoid surges. We went to bed with just the LEDs next to my side of</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">the bed still on. They don't pull much power.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">We're getting such limited news. The radio doesn't seem to pick up</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">much more than static most of the time. I'm wondering now if I should</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">have joined Mom back when I was a teenager and taken Ham radio</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">classes. I don't even think I can remember most of the Morse code I</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">once knew, but a radio with actual news would be a good thing about</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">now.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The hardest thing for me at the moment is the lack of communication</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">with my family in the states. Mom lives alone. Has my brother gone to</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">check on her? &nbsp;My kids and grandkids are all in different homes – only</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">a few miles apart, but how are they all coping? Without the internet</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">or telephones, I'm truly cut off from them. How did Mom and Dad manage</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">when I went on my cross-country jaunt as a teenager and didn't call</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">home every day? I think I understand her frustration now.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Because we seem to have what I know as a brown-out – limited</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">electricity, lights not quite as bright - &nbsp;we are not using the</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">microwave, stove or television all that much.. just trying to make</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">sure we keep our laptops and phones charged. I don't know how many</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">batteries we still have though. Maybe we can get back to shopping</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">later on. The trains are running now and then. It's about a quarter of</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">the normal activity for a Saturday. The buses seem to be on a regular</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">schedule, though. And they've added a few as replacements for trains.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I still don't know what's wrong with the internet – but if there's no</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">electricity in the US, the backbones are probably affected.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I can't shake this “something's wrong” feeling, though. Seriously.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">(notes from Sweden, 10:30 Sunday morning)</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I'm very annoyed that I can't reach my family in the states. We have</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">no real news aside from there is a power outage covering North and</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">South America and parts of Europe having problems. Where we sit, it's</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">somewhat okay. But we have turned off everything that isn't needed for</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">now.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The weather's been nice enough for us to sit outside and chatter with</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">the neighbors. I'm not the only one in a bit of a state over not</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">reaching family. No phones and no television and radio is</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">intermittent, so everyone here in on the terrace is a little worried.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Nothing serious yet, just concern. Those with elderly parents (like</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">me) might show it a bit more than the others, but generally we are</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">keeping up good faces. There are two children in this building, and</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">especially for them, nobody is really sounding &nbsp;upset.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I'm glad we went to the store, though. Food is in good shape, but with</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">the trains running so oddly, we can't guarantee good delivery. A few</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">people have reported that the gas stations aren't always open –</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">evidently the pumps run on electric, and the card readers need phone</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">lines, so unless you are sitting on cash, there's no way to get gas. I</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">hadn't thought of that, either. We do keep a bit of cash on hand.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Tracy and I discussed that several years ago, when I first moved to</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Sweden. As Americans, we were used to cash, credit cards, debit cards</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">and checks. But Swedes were already going away from cash, checks were</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">rare things anyway – what happens when the card readers go down?</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Swedes are not used to dealing in cash all the time. We'd get stuck</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">someplace and not be able to get home. So she and I vowed early on</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">that our households would always keep some spare cash. Enough for at</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">least a couple of days. Now I'm wishing I had enough for a week.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">And that's another thing. She only lives a couple of hours by train</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">from me, but I can't even reach my best friend to find out if she's</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">okay. Without the internet, without telephones...</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Yeah, something is bad wrong. What's happened? And where?</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Sunspots? Attack? What took down the satellite communications so</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">harshly that we don't even have television or satellite radios?</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Kicking myself seriously now for not going ahead with the Ham radio</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">course when I had the chance. At least I would be able to reach Mom.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-veX6W-6Gvsk/T437IW_b_HI/AAAAAAABk2o/7GnSXiHp1UA/s1600/photo+(6).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-veX6W-6Gvsk/T437IW_b_HI/AAAAAAABk2o/7GnSXiHp1UA/s1600/photo+(6).jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/105611889600461566935/about" target="_blank">Learn more about and circle Debbie on G+</a></div><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></span></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-86080111857614405802012-04-17T16:18:00.000-07:002012-04-17T16:19:48.236-07:00Lights out for 75 hrs...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: black; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="color: white;">It's been three days.... 75 and a half hours to be exact. &nbsp;Or close to exact. &nbsp;Funny how dependent I am on my cell phone for time and now knowing it hasn't gotten a signal in 3 days I don't trust it to be right but I don't trust the battery run clock that I never use. &nbsp;Of course I suppose if they haven't lifted the travel emergency by tomorrow it won't matter what time it is anyway since I can't get to work. &nbsp;I did sneak out for a little bit earlier today. &nbsp;the benefit of living on the county line. The next county over doesn't seem to be restricting travel like my country. &nbsp;Anyway, I took the old blue truck up to the truck stop to see if I could fill my gas cans and put some in the bed tank so I can keep running my generator until whatever this is passes. &nbsp;It wasn't until I got up there that I brilliantly realized that I rarely carry cash and no ATMS or pay at the pumps would be working with the banks without power. Thankfully the little service station around the corner from the truck stop still had fuel to sell me and since they knew me were willing to take a check for fuel. &nbsp;I also was able to get a diet coke there.... ahhh it was so wonderful. &nbsp;I started on the windmill today. &nbsp;I actually did fairly well with my son and his friends helping. &nbsp;I just hope that not have cement to anchor it with won't be too big a deal since I couldn't find a hardware store open. &nbsp;I went ahead and took several pounds of hamburger out of the freezer from the cow we &nbsp;had butchered this fall. &nbsp;I cooked it up for the boys as payment for helping. &nbsp;They all seemed grateful to have a big meal. &nbsp;Thank goodness for the firepit so I could cook several burgers at once. &nbsp;Now to see if I can get the connections on the windmill with the supplies I have on hand. &nbsp;Then I won't have to wait for sun to have electricity at the pond house. &nbsp;I did run the generator extra long today. We had to have some laundry done and I wasn't sure I would have time for it to line dry if I hand washed. &nbsp;Although if this happens again at least I know that the wash board I had hanging on the wall of my laundry room for decoration works for functional use. &nbsp;The neighbor came back today and wanted to charge some rechargable batteries. &nbsp;Again, something inside me said don't get this started but I had no real reason to be selfish so I obliged him. &nbsp;Although without sun yesterday and if I recall the forecast I saw Thursday correctly it is supposed to rain again tomorrow I am not sure I had the power to spare. &nbsp;I think I will tell him no if this situation continues and he comes back again. &nbsp;He also mentioned that he told some one in town that I have solar power out here.... Why would he do that? I can see that if this whole thing kept up for too long this would be a problem. &nbsp;I mean really, how long can it go on before they do something about it? &nbsp;While I was up at the main house I tried the satellite TV, nothing. &nbsp;I tried to use just the Antennae and I only found one station. &nbsp;All it was was a recorded message playing about this being a temporary situation, the powers that be are working to resolve the issue, please remain calm and stay off the roads. &nbsp;Just that over and over again... yeah that's the way to keep people calm, tell them to be. &nbsp;Yeah, right. &nbsp;I did get the laptop fully charged so I think I will watch a movie tonight just to break the monotony for me and my son. &nbsp;If nothing else I guess this is giving everyone time to clean up their yards and I saw a lot of rugs being shook today. &nbsp;Maybe we will look back on it like it was a nice break from the rush rush rush that our lives usually are. &nbsp;Then again, my gut says this isn't as temporary as they say. &nbsp;Why aren't they letting us move about freely? &nbsp;Why isn't the Sheriff going house to house to reassure us? &nbsp;If this is a power problem why haven't I seen the utility trucks out? &nbsp;I know where the weak point is in our local grid. &nbsp;They haven't even tried to open 8th St where it always fails. &nbsp;I am going to sort thru this box of leftover wiring to find what I need to finish the windmill and watch a movie with the boy. &nbsp;Hopefully that will distract the doom and gloom thoughts.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: black; color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sHD5KeAbGOI/T435v37bSVI/AAAAAAABk2g/JCPQM8KNOxw/s1600/2011-06-15+22.36.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sHD5KeAbGOI/T435v37bSVI/AAAAAAABk2g/JCPQM8KNOxw/s320/2011-06-15+22.36.13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/111209629416454183241/about" target="_blank">Learn and Read More from Heather Gleeson by circling her on G+</a></div><span style="background-color: black; color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-46533889868092403472012-04-14T18:24:00.001-07:002012-04-14T18:27:42.518-07:00Lights Out at the Plant....<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">4/13/12 9pm PST</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Shit. The power has been out for a little over 27 hours now... starting to get a bit worried.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Guess I better journal whats happened so far, keep a record JIC.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">So I was at work, half way through my shift, when the power went out and we damn near had a level Three toxic event at the plant. Two of the emergency generators didn't power up and almost caused chlorination to dump chlorine gas straight into the air. Of course, I was driving around in my golf cart making my patrols when it happened and I got the call on the radio to go check in with the folks in the command center... Utter bullshit. These fucks wanted me to strap on my emergency respirator and head over to the generators and try to manually power them up. That meant passing through chlorination to get there. Thankfully, by some miracle, as I'm putting the respirator on, the second one that powers chlorination fired up on it's own, followed a few seconds later by the third one and they told me via radio that I didn't need to try and power them on anymore. Shit yeah! Crisis avoided! I so fucking hate this place....</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The rest of my shift was easy, I was tasked with the ever important job of sitting in the north 40, with a flood light, making sure we had nobody trespassing since all the cameras are down. Easy money! Tried to call Moms cell, fucking thing isin't even connecting.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Driving home was a fucking pain in the ass though, took me three hours to go seven miles. Got in at 2am, mom and Syd were soundly asleep upstairs and I figured I better try to get some sleep too. I wind my alarm clock up and head to bed.&nbsp;</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">5am. I'm wide awake. Can't sleep. This insomnia is seriously annoying me. Fuck it, I wanted cereal so I headed downstairs to the kitchen.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Mom was already awake and had a cup of coffee, she looked scared.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I told her I had heard that all of Vegas and Henderson had no power and that once the Sun came up, I will hook up my CB and Linear and try to see if I could get any information.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">930am I finally get the CB and amp hooked up to my car and fire it up. Nothing. Fuck.&nbsp;</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">After about 25 minutes of twisting dials searching side bands I finally get something, but it's weak, just a message to stay calm and stay in our homes. And to stay tuned for further information.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I notice now that there is no air traffic and it's eerily quiet. It feels the same way the strip felt on 9/11, dead. People walking around like zombies, no air traffic allowed so people had no way of leaving. They just wandered around aimlessly. Yeah, now I'm creeped out.&nbsp;</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">4pm, still no power or word on the CB about the power outage. Guess I better fire up the Bar-B-Que and cook all the meats we have, try my best to preserve them.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">6pm, I apparently passed out on the couch while cooking the meats. Mom took over though so we have fresh food, for now. Really thanking the universe for last weeks sale on Arrowhead, we should have enough water for a week or so.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">10pm. I think I'm going to try and sleep on the couch tonight, I have a bat and all the doors and windows are locked. Mom and Sydney are asleep upstairs.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Will try to write tomorrow.</span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--o8u3RBemuo/T4oiM5dPdgI/AAAAAAABkcA/C2XwhZ9J9Zk/s1600/photo+(5).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--o8u3RBemuo/T4oiM5dPdgI/AAAAAAABkcA/C2XwhZ9J9Zk/s1600/photo+(5).jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/113695451106478918353/about" target="_blank">Shane Downey - Learn More about him and floow him on Google Plus</a></div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></span></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-69710202094844002702012-04-14T10:13:00.000-07:002012-04-14T10:13:40.004-07:00Coping without Power - Lights out In Michigan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: black; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="color: white;">We were trying to move our garage door to get my car out when mom and dad stopped by. He has no idea what is going on, but said it will be back within a couple hours. That was last night, and it's still pretty quiet around here. He helped me move the boat from the abandoned neighbor's yard into my garage... always wanted a boat and it's been sitting there for over a year.</span></span><br /><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Mom said even with the generator their cable doesn't come in. We agreed that I was going to move there this morning if the power wasn't back because their generator powers their well and major appliances, and if needed we can load the chest freezer into a van to plug it in. The night flowed smoothly, I crashed so fast after not sleeping the night before. We haven't seen much of the neighbors who all seem to be doing yardwork and grilling.</span></div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">This morning was spent sorting through the fridge, tossing out whatever can't be saved and placing safe items in a bin for transport. The upside of all of the boy's allergies is that most of our food is shelf stable and the fridge is mostly left overs. With the fridge empty and the water not running, the little drama queen (who is mad at me because her humidifier won't turn on?!?) &nbsp;helped me carry the shelves out to the stream in the back to wash the shelves off. Never again- there are WAY too many bugs back there.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">I think it's time to move out, the baby is napping and I am now being begged for popsicles. They were bound to get tired of puzzles eventually. I really don't want top open the big freezer, we have a ton of meat in there.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BHm7uqdDNww/T4mvo1QmPYI/AAAAAAABkZ8/8Tgcn4T6Bmg/s1600/12+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BHm7uqdDNww/T4mvo1QmPYI/AAAAAAABkZ8/8Tgcn4T6Bmg/s320/12+-+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/103201566798631429612/about" target="_blank">Learn More about Susi and follow her on Google+ by clicking this link.</a></span></div></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-72948808142235089712012-04-13T22:33:00.001-07:002012-04-13T22:33:23.206-07:00Is this disruption world-wide? News from Sweden.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Well, here's the deal. I'm going to write this now, but you won't see</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">it until later. I don't have the internet right now and I can't figure</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">out what's wrong with it, so for now I'll put this on my computer and</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">post it later.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">We stayed up with friends last night, got to bed around midnight. I</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">got to meet the new baby in the neighborhood. :)</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">But it's an odd morning. Something feels off, but everything looks</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">okay. I don't usually talk about this, but my overall sense of</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">“something's strange” is strong today. When the Bearded Guy gets up,</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">he'll tell me to calm down, but right now, it's just weird.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The television is missing most of our normal channels. And the</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Swedish-language news has something about electricity, but I can't get</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">the English news to come up and my Swedish is still too weak to really</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">understand what they're saying. I did notice that we must have had an</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">electricity outage overnight, two of the clocks were blinking when I</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">got up. The newsreader's tone is odd, too, she's usually more chirpy</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">than this. I'll have to wait until he's awake.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I've made coffee, emptied the dishwasher from last night, started a</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">load of laundry and sat down to get online, but that's where it went</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">really wrong. Where's my internet?</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I've reset the router twice. I tried plugging in both our USB modems.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Here's where it gets strange. The modems go to two different ISPs.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Both of them, I can get to the ISP, but not out from there. They give</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">me the “limited availability” message. From one of them, I get it.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">It's the same ISP that handles the home internet – maybe that power</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">outage overnight has something to do with them. But the other one?</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I guess it's just a sign that I should work offline today. Paperwork,</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">painting and nail art, here I come! Enjoy your Friday, folks.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">(notes from 11 a.m., Sweden)</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The Bearded Guy is awake. And something is wrong with the world.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">He meant to get up and watch F1 practice this morning. I've never</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">heard so much cussing out of him. He can't &nbsp;get the TV channel he's</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">paid for to load in the browser to watch through ViaSat. He is pissed</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">that the alarm didn't go off to wake him up. And I had to watch him</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">reset the router twice (I had already done that) looking for the</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">internet.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Convincing him to just sit and have tea is not easy to do when he's</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">missing Formula 1. Okay, so he's addicted to his sport. Imagine if the</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">USA couldn't get their football or baseball or hockey games? Yeah.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Like that.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">And I tried to call Tracy, but the phone is acting up. We aren't</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">getting a dial tone on the house line and the mobile phones claim to</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">have service, but no calls will actually go through. She's at least</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">awake at this hour. But without the internet, I can't hit her up on</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">chat, either. Wonder if we're the only ones. There's a lot of activity</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">outside, the stores seem to be open and people are shopping. The</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">trains aren't running, though. That's the most noise – the</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">announcements from the train stations.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">A little odd for a Friday.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I have to admit, it's kind of funny watching him get frustrated with</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">the television and cable/internet hookups. Once I can convince him to</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">eat, everything will be better, I'm sure.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">(notes from noon in Sweden)</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">This is not funny anymore.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">John gave up fighting the internet and turned on the television to the</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">news station. There's power gone in North and South America. Limited</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">news from there. Very limited.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">It's too early for me to call my family. They're on the East Coast and</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">it's only 6 a.m. &nbsp;My family isn't likely to be awake just yet. Another</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">hour, minimum. I don't like it when there are storms and I can't get</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">through or have to wait. But power's gone? What happened?</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">And the electricity issues are here, too. The trains are not running,</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">but it seems most of the cities are okay for now. Wind and water runs</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">a lot here. There's nuclear, too, but that's in only a few places.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Probably worse in the villages and country areas. Our town isn't huge,</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">but it's not a village. The building we're in and the stores around us</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">appear to be okay, but we don't know about the folks who live just</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">outside of town. And we still don't have phones.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">(1 pm in Sweden on Friday)</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The television shut off. All by itself. And we seem to be losing the</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">stores, too. There's plenty of sunlight, but no power. We can't be</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">sure what time the trains stopped running – but evidently it was early</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">this morning.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The laptops and the phones and the iPad are all fine for now – they</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">were fully charged overnight. So we have things we can do. At least</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">for a while. Although, the phones can't make or receive any calls or</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">texts. How odd.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">No more coffee, no more hot water for tea. No opening the fridge or</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">freezer. And the landline is still dead. Not so much as a dial tone.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Mom sent us a portable radio a while back, do we have batteries for</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">that? John's looking for them now. It's chilly, but nice outside,</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">we'll go out in a bit and hang out on the terrace with the neighbors.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">There's still people to talk to and if those steaks thaw out, we can</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">at least grill for dinner.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Yay, we have batteries!</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I guess for a while, we'll just act like the rest of the world and</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">join the party on the terrace. See if anyone of the neighbors knows</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">more.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/105611889600461566935/about" target="_blank">Learn about and follow Debi Vaught-Thelin on Google+ by clicking this link.</a></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gWtakCI4OKc/T4kLacnp2sI/AAAAAAABkXM/HBYa7VBnZwQ/s1600/photo+(6).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gWtakCI4OKc/T4kLacnp2sI/AAAAAAABkXM/HBYa7VBnZwQ/s1600/photo+(6).jpg" /></a></div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-73596623003669650832012-04-13T22:26:00.000-07:002012-04-13T22:26:25.706-07:00Shit. The power has been out for a little over 27 hours now... starting to get a bit worried.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Shit. The power has been out for a little over 27 hours now... starting to get a bit worried.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Guess I better journal whats happened so far, keep a record JIC.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">So I was at work, half way through my shift, when the power went out and we damn near had a level Three toxic event at the plant. Two of the emergency generators didn't power up and almost caused chlorination to dump chlorine gas straight into the air. Of course, I was driving around in my golf cart making my patrols when it happened and I got the call on the radio to go check in with the folks in the command center... Utter bullshit. These fucks wanted me to strap on my emergency respirator and head over to the generators and try to manually power them up. That meant passing through chlorination to get there. Thankfully, by some miracle, as I'm putting the respirator on, the second one that powers chlorination fired up on it's own, followed a few seconds later by the third one and they told me via radio that I didn't need to try and power them on anymore. Shit yeah! Crisis avoided! I so fucking hate this place....</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The rest of my shift was easy, I was tasked with the ever important job of sitting in the north 40, with a flood light, making sure we had nobody trespassing since all the cameras are down. Easy money! Tried to call Moms cell, fucking thing isin't even connecting.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Driving home was a fucking pain in the ass though, took me three hours to go seven miles. Got in at 2am, mom and Syd were soundly asleep upstairs and I figured I better try to get some sleep too. I wind my alarm clock up and head to bed.&nbsp;</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">5am. I'm wide awake. Can't sleep. This insomnia is seriously annoying me. Fuck it, I wanted cereal so I headed downstairs to the kitchen.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Mom was already awake and had a cup of coffee, she looked scared.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I told her I had heard that all of Vegas and Henderson had no power and that once the Sun came up, I will hook up my CB and Linear and try to see if I could get any information.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">930am I finally get the CB and amp hooked up to my car and fire it up. Nothing. Fuck.&nbsp;</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">After about 25 minutes of twisting dials searching side bands I finally get something, but it's weak, just a message to stay calm and stay in our homes. And to stay tuned for further information.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I notice now that there is no air traffic and it's eerily quiet. It feels the same way the strip felt on 9/11, dead. People walking around like zombies, no air traffic allowed so people had no way of leaving. They just wandered around aimlessly. Yeah, now I'm creeped out.&nbsp;</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">4pm, still no power or word on the CB about the power outage. Guess I better fire up the Bar-B-Que and cook all the meats we have, try my best to preserve them.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">6pm, I apparently passed out on the couch while cooking the meats. Mom took over though so we have fresh food, for now. Really thanking the universe for last weeks sale on Arrowhead, we should have enough water for a week or so.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">10pm. I think I'm going to try and sleep on the couch tonight, I have a bat and all the doors and windows are locked. Mom and Sydney are asleep upstairs.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HCpk3CT05v8/T4kJ-358D0I/AAAAAAABkXE/cCMXsKs7wUs/s1600/photo+(5).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HCpk3CT05v8/T4kJ-358D0I/AAAAAAABkXE/cCMXsKs7wUs/s1600/photo+(5).jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/113695451106478918353/about" target="_blank">News From Shane Downey Learn more about him and follow him on G+ by clicking here.</a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-76095685130637539432012-04-13T19:57:00.001-07:002012-04-13T20:07:56.561-07:0028hrs and still dark in Indiana<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">It's been 28+ hours since the electricity went out. 28+ hours without cell phones, tv, internet, even the radio isn't broadcasting most of the time. I heard that the gas station in town still has some gas left and is running the pumps on generators. One of the neighbors, Chad, stopped by because he saw a light back here tonight. I have been running my pond house on solar power for just over a year now so the loss of electricity isn't really that big a deal to me. I guess Chad also heard in town that this isn't just our little rural town. He asked if he would be able to come back tomorrow and charge his cell phone even though they aren't working right now. I almost said no but I didn't really have a good reason to say no other than I don't want the whole town coming out to use my electricity and water. Even as I think that I hear the voice in my head reprimand me for being selfish. Something about this situation makes me feel the need to be selfish.</span><br /><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">We are used to being without lights here for up to a week at a time. However this is the first time it has spread this far for this long. I was able to get just enough signal on the old CB I have to hear from some of the trucks stopped up at the Pilot that they have driven thru more than one state without electricity. I guess the interstates are a complete mess. I built my little "shack" a year ago and equipped it with a hand pump for water, solar panels to have a little electricity, wood heat, and a composting toilet. The main house still has all the luxuries but I wanted to try my hand at straw bale building back here by the pond. I was worried about not being able to get to work this morning and not being able to call but it would seem that I wasn't the only one if what the truckers are saying is right. My county had declared a travel emergency according to the sheriff that sent me home today when I tried to leave. I am beginning to think this is different than any other time the lights went out. The neighbors aren't really acting like they think it is normal either. We are used to odd power outages but this is different. I wish it was colder out so I could empty my freezer into the big cooler and set it outside then I wouldn't need the generator. I am trying to run the generator at the main house for just a couple of hours at a time to conserve gas until we know what's going on. It seems like it has to be something odd for the county to be out declaring a travel emergency on a quite spring day. It's odd to look toward the Casino several miles away and not see a glow. I guess I will turn out the light and charge my cell phone, laptop, and kindle with the batteries. Tomorrow is supposed to be wet and rainy. I have a feeling I won't get much solar power. I am starting to wish I had taken the time to set up that little wind generator I bought this winter as a spring project. Just to keep the batteries charged so I could charge my phone. Who knows when the cell towers will start to work again. I guess I'll try to get some sleep and quit wondering what's really going on. I am definitely acutely aware of being 28+ hours without a cell phone and without a news report. It's very isolating out here in the middle of no where without those things.&nbsp;</span><a class="ot-hashtag" href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/s/%23lightsoutproject" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-decoration: none;">#lightsoutproject</a></span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zt628ALqH8I/T4jnKvS4ZvI/AAAAAAABkU8/Yt4suqI3Kxo/s1600/2011-06-15+22.36.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zt628ALqH8I/T4jnKvS4ZvI/AAAAAAABkU8/Yt4suqI3Kxo/s1600/2011-06-15+22.36.13.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/111209629416454183241/about" target="_blank">Please enjoy this update from Heather Greeson and click here to circle and learn more about here on Googe+</a></div><br /></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-18603877837117789242012-04-13T17:03:00.001-07:002012-04-13T17:03:37.635-07:004/13 Frisco, TX<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tk2R6MBXh-Y/Tvy4IU8PFKI/AAAAAAAAGs0/BYq-ThnA_-Y/s1600/Dec+29%252C+2011+12%253A57%253A20+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tk2R6MBXh-Y/Tvy4IU8PFKI/AAAAAAAAGs0/BYq-ThnA_-Y/s200/Dec+29%252C+2011+12%253A57%253A20+PM.jpg" width="200" /></a><span id="internal-source-marker_0.7479387760704357" style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I didn’t go to work today. Not like I didn’t try. Traffic was a mess. It took me almost an hour to get less than a mile. It took me two hours to get back home. My wife was right about staying home. The little one had been fussing all night, and we had not had much sleep. I had hoped that by the time that I got home the power would be at least flickering on. Unfortunately the closed garage door told me that the power was still off.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I had scanned the radio while stuck in traffic and only heard brief snippets through static. I believe this is larger than just a local thing. A thought creeps into the back of my head as soon as I open the front door. I start by inventorying how much baby formula we have left, maybe a month maybe two. We have bottled water on hand but with us drinking it, it may not last that long. I glance in the chest freezer and the fridge, not long enough for much to escape. We have enough there to last us a little while. I pick up the propane tank and thank whoever that I filled it a week ago.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">My wife, my son and I head back to the car, and just sit in the driveway draining the battery for the next 30 minutes just trying to hear anything. Other neighbors are outside chatting. A neighborhood that everyone keeps to themselves now is a highly social one for a lack of things to do.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The prickling on the back of my neck picks up again as I realize something, no planes are flying overhead, it’s almost too quiet at this point.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span>Matthew Myershttps://plus.google.com/110646233491317216320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-79673811770837350152012-04-13T13:23:00.000-07:002012-04-13T13:25:46.915-07:00What's with all the military Helicopters?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="MsoNormal">So the electricity went out last night 4/12/2012 at 6:17PM. Now it's almost 130 the next afternoon, and the electricity still hasn't come back on. Honestly I haven't even seen any utility trucks. This just gets stranger and stranger. My cell phone hasn't worked since the power went out. But I guess some other people's phones worked for a little while. Because I'm hearing lots of rumors.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">All I really have is rumors, because I can't even get a radio station, on my battery-powered radio. The rumors say that the power is out, pretty much everywhere. That just doesn't make any sense, but that's what I keep hearing again and again. Last night, a couple of different times, I was woken up, by the sound of helicopters.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">This morning I got on my scooter, about 6 AM, and drove around a little looking for a cup of coffee. I figured the convenience store or something would be open. Wrong, everything was locked up tight. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">I'm trying not to be scared, I'm trying not to be worried, but it's very difficult. Sure the electricity has gone out before, but it's just never had this weird feeling to it. Every other time the electricity has gone out, I've been able to get some news on the radio because their electricity was still on. I think their electricity must be off too, or else wouldn't they be broadcasting something?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We don't actually have a home phone, we just use our cell <b>phones</b>. But our neighbor has a home phone. And it doesn't work either. I always thought home telephones had a power supply of their own. So people could still communicate, if the electricity went out. Either they have changed this, or the telephone company’s power supply is out too.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Now if that isn't weird enough, when I rode my scooter, down towards Highway 52, I found a policeman, blocking the on ramp; at least that's what it looked like to me. But when I asked him if he was manning a roadblock, he said no, he was just recommending that people stay put until the crisis had been resolved. He said, I was welcome to drive around, and try to get on the highway, but that it was gridlock, and lots of vehicles, and run out of gas, or been abandoned, so I wouldn't be a will to get anywhere anyway.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">But what happened to the electricity? I asked him. He said he had no idea, that I knew as much as he did, but he was sure, the lights would be back on soon. He said as far as he knew, schools and businesses were closed, and people should just stay in their homes or close to their homes until the power came back on. So you don't know anything at all? I asked him. No I don't. He replied. He said he lived in Santee California, and another Officer that lived in the area had stopped by, and this was what they had decided to do, until they got further instructions.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We'll don’t your radios work? I asked him. He said they did but just locally as the repeaters and the rest of the support network that required AC electricity was down for the most part.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I'm a little nervous. What do you think is going on? I asked him. He said not to worry because there were plans in place for things like this and if nothing else the military would get involved. This made me even more worried. But, by now, other people, had started to gather around, and ask questions of their own, so I was kind of drowned out. A few minutes later, he got back into his patrol car, and drove away.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I got back on my scooter, drove back home, lit a fire in our fire pit, and boiled some cowboy coffee, by putting coffee grounds in a sock, and tying a knot in the sock, putting the sock in a teapot, and boiling the water. It tasted horrible, but even bad coffee is good, when it's the only coffee.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">A few neighbors showed up, I'm sure it was the smell of fresh coffee that brought them. We just all kind is due to rounding compared notes. No one really knew anything new. If I had made more coffee I'm sure the conversation would've gone longer. I was tempted to make more, but I was more tempted, to conserve, as I just don't know how long this whole thing will last.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Also our neighbor hinted that he wanted some bottled water to make formula for his new baby. No one volunteered any. I felt a little bad because we have a 24pack of Auquafina in the pantry because my wife likes it, and last night I did fill the bathtub, just to be safe. But.. I’m sure he will find some somewhere. The little voice in my head says I’m a selfish asshole, but the bigger voice says this could get a whole lot worse before it gets any better.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The lights will be back on soon, won’t they?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The good news is that Mrs. Swaney seems to be holding up well; she has slept through most of this so far. I’m sure she will wake up soon then she will ask me questions, and I will try not to rattle her while admitting I have no answers at all.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/116771403371658327093/116771403371658327093/posts" target="_blank">Tell me what you would do if your light were out and you had no idea why? Click here and post your story.</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aHylkqxXup8/T4iK_DWKFZI/AAAAAAABkSw/akgQfvwAygY/s1600/San+Diego+185.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aHylkqxXup8/T4iK_DWKFZI/AAAAAAABkSw/akgQfvwAygY/s320/San+Diego+185.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-10781062075760553982012-04-13T12:59:00.001-07:002012-04-13T12:59:27.780-07:00Day 2 ... Things are getting a bit frantic in Michigan.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Parking in the garage means we never use the front door. So it didn't even occur to me last night that maybe, I should move all the boxes of crap blocking it shut before my husband comes home and the garage door doesn't work. You would think I would think of that, and I did- at about 11:30 when I was woken up by a ringing door bell and insanely loud pounding on the door.&nbsp;</span><br /><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Of course now my phone died because I need a new battery, so all those candles *would* have come in handy if I could see enough to light them. Usually Michael is home quite a bit earlier. Usually he doesn't seem frantic. Then again, usually he isn't pounding on the door in total darkness, so I can forgive the intrusion on my rest. At this point he tells me it's not just the local power, as his 40 mile drive let him in on the secret that there is no power anywhere. Anywhere anywhere, not just wherever I think of first, and people in the city are completely panicking, hence the extra two hours to drive home.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I had no idea it was so late. That means I slept through my shows.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">With that out of the way, what the hell does it mean that there is no power? How is there just NO power? That's not a thing, there are power outages, there are downed lines, there isn't just no power. So much for sleeping. The remaining minutes of his phone (nobody makes a sufficient phone battery anymore) had to go to lighting some tapers and finding that wind up emergency radio... which told us nothing as apparently it gets no reception. It's not clear if it's the radio, which has never been used before, or a lack of stations. &nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">So we sat in bed for a couple hours, speculating on whether we were about to be killed in some one time only event or if the power would be on in the morning and the world would continue like nothing happened. I never got back to sleep. I spent a little while crying before hearing what I imagine every pre-schooler's mom hears when they wake up in pitch black - "EEHHHHH... &nbsp;thud &nbsp;thud thud... crash... &nbsp;I knee juice." I think it's ok to open the fridge for that. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">First things first this morning... once the sun came up... first I suppose meaning ONLY because nothing around here works, we packed a little suitcase to go to grandma's house. Usually, if I had a day off I would start some laundry, do the dishes, maybe vacuum something. Yeah, that won't work and somebody let the three year old leave our broom out in the snow this winter. &nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I got the girl ready for school this morning but the bus didn't come. This worries me, but I can't tell if I'm supposed to be worried because I know NOTHING.&nbsp;All I could think of while packing was the distinct lack of background noise. That faint buzz from the Wii, the TV, the computer's fan, the cars driving by, my kids making me watch Dora... it is all gone. I am so glad. Then I tried to shower. This better be fixed by tonight, our well doesn't work meaning lukewarm water was literally trickling onto my head. Now my hair is all frizzy. I've spent less than a day without power and already I'm remembering why I don't like camping.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I think I'm going to put the suitcase in the car and visit my parents for dinner. They probably have some great explanation seeing as how they can call people. Too cheap to turn on the land line? Yup, that's me.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LJGCWjI2O3k/T4iFRoxN2tI/AAAAAAABkSo/1FTlrGOgE-U/s1600/12+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LJGCWjI2O3k/T4iFRoxN2tI/AAAAAAABkSo/1FTlrGOgE-U/s320/12+-+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/103201566798631429612/about" target="_blank">Learn More about this fantastic writer and follow her on G+</a></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-76731112553862027742012-04-13T12:36:00.000-07:002012-04-13T12:36:20.344-07:00Dark In Seattle -<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.06142940605059266" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jenn:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What did you expect? It </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Seattle, after all. And when it’s dark, especially in the spring or the fall or the winter, it’s also rainy. That’s the way it works around here. But the power went out here before dark; it was 3:17 by the clock on my smartphone. So we had time to get our act together before it was completely dark. Good thing I used to collect those candles...</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now the last time we had a prolonged power outage was December of 2006, and there was a reason for that one - a huge windstorm, with hurricane force winds up and down the Puget Sound Basin. And that storm netted us our third child, who’s wild enough to give weight to old wives’ tales about conception.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But this time there’s no known cause... and no working Internet or phones... </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Laston:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gasoline powered Cell phone generators will immediately kick in for a handful of hours... while technicians scramble to both maintain power and refuel the emptying tanks. But the gas for the cars comes from &nbsp;stations that use electrical power to run the pumps.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Telephones companies, the old land lines, have batteries stored in central offices that are not part of the power grid. Big old wet acid batteries that look like barrels, or in some cases vats. These are designed to keep the phones up for a few weeks.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">if you’ve got a phone that doesn’t need to be plugged into a wall socket.... well then you should still be able to talk to each other... for a while. My internet needs power from to work, so it would go off instantly.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some places will stay up and running for longer. &nbsp;&nbsp;Hospitals have emergency power that will keep the lights on for a week or two. same for prisons, and police stations... Many of the big business have their own generators. that will kick in... keeping the important stuff (well, important to them) for a couple days, so they can run backup routines, or route things to another building.....</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ham radio operators will fire up their battery powered radio stations with multiple power redundancies. (they LIVE for this sort of thing... and plan for such emergencies to an obsessive level of detail) to talk around the world, and find out what the hell is going on.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If it ALL goes out... then we got three scenarios... One. this is deliberate... an attack, EMP air burst nukes, and sabotage. &nbsp;Two, this is an epic level failure of all things electrical... perhaps a solar flare bigger than any we’ve ever seen before. or Three. It’s just me. its a dream or a delusion. &nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If the ham radios don’t work... if the radio is just static across the spectrum, if the phones are down, if NO lights are on anywhere... then Either I’m dead or dreaming, or we have a non-trivial solar flare problem. I’m gonna be looking for northern lights before I start confirming my bias towards my own insanity. &nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My next would be... hell, I dunno, start asking if my neighbors need anything I can help with... Start filling &nbsp;bathtubs, buckets, and jugs with water. Check the pantry for food, and see if I can get to the local store for supplies. I live within walking distance of a grocery store, if the car won’t start (confirming my solar flare or EMP burst hypothesis)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Second day... One hell of a barbecue. all the meat in the freezer and all the food that will spoil in the fridge gets used. &nbsp;cooked &nbsp;to the point where it can be stored dry when I can... I got plenty of plastic tubs with airtight lids... that will keep the decay down for a few days... waiting to hear on the radio... I got one with a hand crank dynamo... anything at all. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If there is no news from the neighbors, no northern lights, no jets flying overhead, no radio, no power, no lights, no cars, no backup systems coming into play, nothing... well then its gotta be us. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By now SOMEONE would have started a plan, and good, bad, or meh, I’ll help him as best I can, throwing my support his way, so I can stay in the background, but get the ball rolling. make suggestions, keep some order in the chaos. in a way that me and mine aren’t the focus for anyone. Follow his lead till I learn what I need. Keeping things civil and calm without stepping on toes... watching, and learning. Teaching people how to make candles and lamps with strips of paper towels and cooking oil. Helping all the neighbors get to know each other, telling stories to entertain the kids, and showing people how we used to keep the darkness at bay. All in ways that quietly pulls the group together. After all, still no way to know how long the lights will be out.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But NOW, I’m getting a little worried.</span></b><br /><b style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z7ebTfCMOsc/T4h_yQzOKFI/AAAAAAABkSc/f-6JRyM1Nok/s1600/MomAtRest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z7ebTfCMOsc/T4h_yQzOKFI/AAAAAAABkSc/f-6JRyM1Nok/s1600/MomAtRest.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/102174521044350449504/about" target="_blank">Learn All about Jen Kirkland and follow here on Google+</a></div><b style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-25903249221049829312012-04-13T12:15:00.000-07:002012-04-13T12:15:03.274-07:00No power here either...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I can't&nbsp;believe&nbsp;that we're in the dark Still AGAIN aarrgghh I hate CL&amp;P with their foolish mess.</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Dark Cold &amp; using the bathroom by candle light is not fun in this slightly chilly morning</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">It's 4:46a according to the TracPhone April 13 2012 &amp; still no power, the little solar lights have pretty much given off the last of their lights until they get charged up from the sun again.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I do hope that it's sunny so they get a full charge if I recall it was supposed to be in the high 60's for temps but I cant recall how much sun I wasn't paying attention to the news when the power went out</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">No one seems to know why but from what I'm hearing from the neighbors the stories are all the same</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">For some unknown reason at 6:17pm everyone's lights just went out then insert traffic horror story of your choice due to no street lights &amp; no signal lights although heaviest of the rush hour was done prior to the lights going out.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Too bad for the folks who got stuck in the stores when the power went out trying to pick up dinner.</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Thankfully there was still some sunlight left so I fired up the grill on the deck &amp; just put the pot with the meat on the grill to finish cooking</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I called Hubbyman at work to find out how long will the battery backup last on the phone line &amp; did he hear anything about an accident or something taking down a line in our area.</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I had to call the cell &amp; leave a message because the phone line at Comcast was busy; when he called back he was quick &amp; annoyed because the techs who were out in the field are all reporting that the lights have gone out All Over the State.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">He was waiting to hear back from CL&amp;P as to what's going on &amp; when will the power be back on &amp; no one seems to know what happened much less when will it be back on.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">They told the techs to tell the customers they'll have to reschedule because they can't do any work with the power out &amp; to come on back to the office.</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Just Great CL&amp;P was lying it's butt off about power restoration for SnowTober Storm Alfred &amp; they knew what was happening then with advanced notice &amp; 1/2 of the state was still out for 2 weeks...&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Hate to think how long we'll be out this time with all parts of the state reporting outages.</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">To&nbsp;avoid&nbsp;the possibility of running out of gas like last time HubbyMan stopped by the gas station that was open last time &amp;&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">YES! yes they had their generator up &amp; running &amp; of course the long line.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Poor HubbyMan he didn't get home until almost 11 mostly due to waiting on line for gas fill up.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">He's out like a light after&nbsp;eating dinner snoring loudly&nbsp;&amp; Percy the Destructo Pup is snoring away fully tired out from playing with KenZo &amp; Kai. "The Boys" are back to sleeping too just a slight turning around because they heard me up. &nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Almost full house tonight, Daughter came over after work to be here with Baby&nbsp;Genius&nbsp;&amp; her pups.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Baby&nbsp;Genius&nbsp;was brave when the lights went out &amp; called his mom to tell her the lights went out in the whole complex.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">She called while I was waiting for HubbyMan's return call so I went over to pick Baby Genius &amp; "the boys" up since this was her late night &amp; she wouldn't have gotten back home until after it was dark.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">He was ready when I pulled up; I saw him looking out the window for me. Little Mr Macho put on a brave face but I do sense he was glad that "Mom-Mom" was here to get him so he wasn't alone - yes it's scary being a latch key kid when the lights go out.</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">By the time I got up the stairs he was pushing the dog crate with Kai out into the hall. I grabbed KenZo's leash so Baby Genius could lock up &amp; we were headed back here.</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Typical mother I can't sleep without knowing that everyone is ok... haven't heard from Son who is heading down towards Florida working on the cruise ship. Just need to hear my baby's voice to know that he is ok.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Have to conserve the batteries on the radio, if the lights do not come back on by 5:30a they have already said that schools will be closed. I think&nbsp;that's&nbsp;the time that the Governor is supposed to be doing the update from the State Emergency Center or maybe it was 7a? I have to pay more attention today.</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ro5m-fd_MU0/T4h6u-VV92I/AAAAAAABkSU/C9pQt7T8oKA/s1600/photo+(4).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ro5m-fd_MU0/T4h6u-VV92I/AAAAAAABkSU/C9pQt7T8oKA/s1600/photo+(4).jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/108693062865444341500/about" target="_blank">Learn More about this writer and follow her on G+</a></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-79119864421521704342012-04-13T01:16:00.001-07:002012-04-13T01:16:33.038-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzeDh9KLSaRBS9alZdecID2HFl_JPmssvXjsfSusyWZSJ_Mo9dR3IKJcmP6tw-iVRDjFCPa1y7tZXRzC4A6jw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Brief&nbsp;explanation&nbsp;of lightsoutproject and a personal invitation for you to participate.</div></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-26764375403414517072012-04-13T01:09:00.001-07:002012-04-13T01:09:35.110-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Fuck.. it's 102am and the lights are still out. Im awake because I went to sleep about dark. 8 o'clock or so. Just walked out and looked off of my balcony.. It is so fricking dark, until you look up and then the stars are so bright. And then 3 fricking Helicopters flew past. The must be military as they were in a pretty tight formation. Wonder where they are headed... or where they have been. Ah fuck it I'm going back to bed. Hope these lights come on by morning because Im sure gonna want some coffee.<br /><br />almost 7 hrs without power.<br />Santee, California.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wxzAoNsyfL4/T4fe8WMo4QI/AAAAAAABkP0/0b6SMD5OKxE/s1600/photo+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wxzAoNsyfL4/T4fe8WMo4QI/AAAAAAABkP0/0b6SMD5OKxE/s1600/photo+(1).jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/117597061540365781107/about?gpinv=AGXbFGyFuUbqKQuuznFQzgDW6_5Tu6eojYSvCuveAIamCtXbXCA59lhfJkccwuAW1khW1HayQRZ-CLoRHb1cxE9mk2qbFX0zyCl1AAF7ZtZIn6YXGNDOf9M&amp;hl=en" target="_blank">Jody Swaney - Project Darkenss</a></div><br /></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-47659085069005113582012-04-12T23:51:00.002-07:002012-04-12T23:51:48.440-07:00Somewhere in Oregon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">April 12, 2012 11:30pm pacific I knew it was bound to happen. Everyone just laughed when I asked if there were any teotwawki circles on G+ started. Five hours into the power outage, and I just found out it’s not only here in BFE Oregon, it seems to be everywhere, or at least everywhere the future ex-boyfriend could reach with the his modded radios, I don’t really get all the radio junk he’s into, other than the fact the skips great this year due to all the solar flares. His been fiddling with them in the truck since 8pm and the last call out, he picked up similar stories from people with no electricity in PA, Mexico, and a very fleeting transmission with some people in Australia. Okay, I freaked a little, places that have nothing to do with the US Energy Dept. all losing power at once?!? Something is up. I had the kiddos help me fill the water bobs, get their rainy day kits, and find me all of their toys I haven’t had a chance to take the batteries from for charging (some of the louder toys coincidentally), and put the batteries into the solar chargers on their windowsills . We fired up the grill and put the tents up in the yard, had ourselves a little campout, thankfully my two rugrats PTFO fairly early. I am hoping this is a temporary thing, since the cars run and none of my electronics are fried I am ruling out solar flare. I guess later tonight we will haul down the gas generator from the attic and hook up the deep freezer; charge up all the battery packs in the house, and keep trying to reach someone who knows what the hell is going on. I’ve gotta reserve some charge for my laptop, hopefully when I get up tomorrow everything will be back to working order— I can use this as my first blog post maybe, everyone can get a kick out of what a spaz I can be, and if still no power, well I guess we will have to wait and see. Its days like these that make me glad to be a “prepper”.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: black; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: black; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="color: white;">Somewhere in Oregon&nbsp;</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uypVuehxtyE/T4fMSVK-oTI/AAAAAAABkPU/4pb7SKMdPeE/s1600/photo+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uypVuehxtyE/T4fMSVK-oTI/AAAAAAABkPU/4pb7SKMdPeE/s1600/photo+(3).jpg" /></a></div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span><br /><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/118272434101169578887/about?gpinv=AGXbFGyFuUbqKQuuznFQzgDW6_5Tu6eojYSvCuveAIamCtXbXCA59lhfJkccwuAW1khW1HayQRZ-CLoRHb1cxE9mk2qbFX0zyCl1AAF7ZtZIn6YXGNDOf9M&amp;hl=en" target="_blank">Learn More about Shannon Weirich and follow here on G+</a></div></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048186135251497952.post-21630310679329239492012-04-12T23:01:00.001-07:002012-04-12T23:01:22.797-07:00Meanwhile in Space<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I'd decided to wake him and explain again. "It's been two and half hours." I repeated to Flight Officer Swaney. "No lights, no sign of power at all".</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Floating toward me, still rubbing sleep from his eyes, "What region of the US?"&nbsp;</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">"All of it."</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">"Bull shit, that doesn't happen." Nudging past me he looks out the port hole. "Damn. The whole thing. How long has it been."</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">"Damn it, like I said ... about two and a half hours. Went out at 6:17pm. That's it. I tried reaching the ground but nothing. Seems like there down to?"</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">"That's eerie. seeing it like that, outlined by Mexico's lights ..." He turns toward me " .. what about the other listening stations, England, Russia?"</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">"Nothing, from them but being geostationary like we are I'm not sure if they have power or not but the U.S. is out completely. Nothing, no power, no communication, no back-ups. What should we do?"</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Turning toward me, doing his best to put himself between me and the port hole and looking directly at me. "Look, Canada is out as well ..."</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">"Shit, I didn't notice"</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">"You didn't notice Canada... Anyway. Pay attention, You need to wake the others and get us moving. I want us in a real orbit so we can take a look at everything as we pass over."</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I was listening but he must have seen the look in my eyes as I was peering under his left arm pit.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">"What?" irritation crossing his face.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">"South Americas lights just went out."</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Turing to face the porthole ... "We may have a problem."</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: #444444; color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SA4GJjsV-Yg/T4fAu_iAnkI/AAAAAAABkPE/yPfQtG0giYs/s1600/photo+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SA4GJjsV-Yg/T4fAu_iAnkI/AAAAAAABkPE/yPfQtG0giYs/s1600/photo+(2).jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/111064859315143552394/about" target="_blank">Learn More about Richard Ericson and follow him on G+</a></div><span style="background-color: #444444; color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></span></div>Jody Swaneyhttps://plus.google.com/117597061540365781107noreply@blogger.com0